There is more to Hyderabad than Biryani; Moksha Gundam Visvesvaraya proposed Musi Riverfront activities in 1908: the author of Beyond Biryani Dr Dinesh C Sharma shares nuggets about the city that find a place in his latest book “Beyond Biryani”–The Making of a Globalised Hyderabad
There is more to Hyderabad than Biryani. Hyderabad shot into fame for Biryani only a few decades back though Biryani existed for a very long time said Dr Dinesh C Sharma, the author of the book “Beyond Biryani”–The Making of a Globalised Hyderabad.’
Hyderabad is known for many things, including its history, culture, food, and attractions. It is known as the city of pearls. It is also known for hilarious one-liners and unique vocabulary. Hau, hallu, kya miya, dekho chiccha, baigan ke baataan nakko karo are part of the hilarious and quirky language.
It is an IT Capital. It is a Pharma Capital, Vaccines Capital, Life Sciences and Training Capital. Besides Biryani it is known for Badminton, Bahubali, Bagarebaingan, Bangles, double ka mita, gazar ka halwa, Irani chai, samosa, karachi biscuit, Osmania biscuit, maska bun and so much more. It is home to many union government research labs and defence institutes, the national police academy. It is a city of nawabs and kababs. Biryani and sherwani, pearls and paigahs, Haleem and arches, minarets and modern buildings. It is a tri-city and Tree city. Now the fourth city—The Future City is also being added.
Hyderabad is that city where Biology meets Technology, where Data Science meets Life Sciences, where metaverse meets mango verse, where north India touches south of India and it is that melting point, said Dr Sharma.
Dr Shrama, a science journalist, columnist and journalism educator is the author of the book. He lived away from Hyderabad for 35 years. On invitation of the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI), he delivered a talk on Thursday night on the History of Hyderabad.
Replying to a question on the controversy surrounding the Musi River Front Project, the author said Moksha Gundam Visvesvaraya proposed Musi Riverfront activities in 1908″
Hyderabad city was inundated with floods in 1908 and FTCCI was formed in 1917. Do institutions like FTCCI and others preserve their history? he asked and said big ‘No’. Beyond souvenirs brought out on the eve of milestone year celebrations, most organisations do not preserve their history. Organisations’ memory is very short. He suggested to Mr. Suresh Kumar Singhal, President of FTCCI to write their 107-year-old history and preserve it for future generations. Institutions must have a culture of preserving history, he said.
The system of teaching in native languages, which Osmania University emulated was a practice in vogue in Japan he shared.
The author shared many unknown things about Hyderabad such as the beginning of the CMC Research Lab, which subsequently paved the wave for the IT revolution in the city.
CMC which was once owned by The Government of India (GoI), was privatized later. When US-based MNCs were shunted out of India by the government which was ruling then. CMC, based out of Hyderabad took over the maintenance of IBM installations at over 800 locations. This paved the way for a subsequent IT revolution in the city. Today Hyderabad is known by the whole world for its IT industry and IT-related services.
Welcoming the gathering Suresh Kumar Singhal, President of FTCCI said every generation must know history about their place and their ancestors. There is no presence without the past. Understanding the past is important. History provides a chronological account of the past, which can help us understand who we are and where we come from, he added.
Former bureaucrat BP Acharya and many others graced the occasion
